The present invention relates to a wedge fastener for securing a pedal to a shaft, such as, for example, a vehicle clutch pedal and to the resulting pedal assembly.
It is known in the art that a clutch pedal may be secured to a shaft using a key and keyway combination. In this known design, a keyway is provided at the end of the shaft and also inside the hub portion of the clutch pedal. These keyways are aligned with a key which is driven into the keyways to hold the clutch pedal onto the shaft. This type of assembly requires significant machining and it is difficult to disassemble for repair. As another known approach, the hub of a clutch pedal is placed on a clutch shaft and a pinch bolt is positioned in the hub and tightened to expand the hub against the clutch shaft.
In accordance with one embodiment, a pedal structure has a foot engaging end portion with a foot pedal spaced from a shaft mounting end portion. A pedal mounting end portion of a shaft of a pedal assembly is coupled to the shaft mounting end portion of the pedal structure. At least one wedge slidably engages the pedal mounting end portion of the shaft and the shaft mounting end portion of the pedal structure so that the shaft and the pedal move together while resisting relative rotation.
The shaft may include first and second interconnected shaft sections with the first shaft section including the pedal mounting end portion. The second shaft section may have a hollow interior. In this case, the first shaft section may have a mounting or coupling end portion opposite to the pedal mounting end portion which is inserted into the hollow interior of the second shaft section.
The pedal mounting end portion of the shaft may have at least one wedge engaging shaft flat. In addition, the shaft mounting end portion of the pedal structure may comprise a collar having an axially extending bore. The bore may include at least one wedge engaging bore flat which is aligned with the at least one shaft flat upon insertion of the pedal mounting end portion of the shaft into the bore. In this specific embodiment, the at least one wedge engages the at least one bore flat and at least one shaft flat to couple the pedal to the shaft.
The bore flat may diverge away from the centerline of the bore from one end to the other of the bore so as to provide a tapered receiving opening for the at least one wedge. The wedge may be tapered to compliment the tapered shape of the bore flat.
As a further aspect of one embodiment, the pedal mounting end portion of the shaft may have two opposed shaft flats with the bore having two opposing bore flats positioned to correspond to the shaft flats when the pedal structure is mounted to the pedal mounting end portion of the shaft. The at least one wedge may comprise a wedge structure having a plurality of wedge portions, such as two tapered leg wedge portions each being inserted between a respective shaft flat and a respective bore flat. The wedge structure may be of a u-shaped construction with the leg portions extending outwardly from a base portion of the wedge structure.
The pedal of the pedal assembly may be a clutch pedal.
At least one fastener may be used to secure the pedal assembly together. In one form, the pedal mounting end portion of the shaft has an axially extending threaded bore and the at least one fastener comprises a threaded bolt. The bolt may be inserted through the at least one wedge and threaded into the threaded bore. At least one biasing element, such as a spring, which may comprise first and second cupped washers, may be positioned between the bolt head and the wedge structure, or at another suitable location, to apply a biasing force to the fastener to minimize the possibility of the fastener becoming loose, such as a result of vibrations.
The present invention is directed toward novel and unobvious features of a pedal assembly, both alone and in combination with one another. The above and additional features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.